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why is the US not Metric

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tooki:

--- Quote from: jfiresto on October 29, 2019, 09:25:32 pm ---
--- Quote from: CatalinaWOW on October 29, 2019, 08:19:23 pm ---rstofer is absolutely correct on this one.  The unit of measure on those large PET bottles is the bottle.  We don't buy x bottles to get y liters of soda.  We don't say we need y liters to fill z 0.5 liter glasses.  We buy the number of bottles that will fit the refrigerator or cabinet or budget.  When that runs out, or nearly runs out we buy more.  And I suspect that is the way people operate worldwide....

--- End quote ---

There is a fair amount of that in Germany, people buy another bottle or another box, but many also look at the specific price (euros/liter, euros/100 g, etc.). It is shown with the end price, to help compare other brands and sizes. I get annoyed when a manufacturer reduces the amount in a box or bottle. In response, I weigh each serving on an industrial balance, and proportionally reduce the serving size. Tit for tat.

--- End quote ---
What I find so annoying about the unit price labeling is that they’ll deliberately use different units on different products, e.g. one brand of ketchup might be in €/l and the other will be in €/kg.

I was at ikea the other day, and they have frozen Christmas hams in stock. They’re supposed to be sold by weight, but the shelf tag said CHF 29.90/m. (I mentioned it to the manager, and he joked that they slice it very, very thin!   ;D )

vk6zgo:

--- Quote from: rstofer on October 29, 2019, 09:36:47 pm ---We seem to be getting plywood that is not only in metric for thickness but also in exterior dimensions.  No problem!  I just set my 5 HP tablesaw to inches and cut it to fit.  The sheets are a little bigger than 4'x8' as I recall.  Anyway, instant conversion!

But, still, I have to use a metric router bit to cut the dado.  No worries, I can afford router bits!

I agree, most industry will slowly convert over the next 100 years or so.  Those that do a lot of off-shoring will convert sooner rather than later.  Things measured in bushels probably won't change at all.  Pork bellies will still sell in 40,000 pound frozen slabs known as a 'unit'.  Why in the world would farmers care about metric?  There land is measured in acres - thousands of them.

--- End quote ---

In VK6, some "farmer's" land is measured in square kilometres--------100's of 'em!
A lot of farm products in this country are measured in kg, & large quantities in "tonnes", which are "near as dammit" the same as Imperial "tons"!

The biggest bonus for trade in Metrication of the old ex "Imperial " countries, is that things like "44 gallon(Imp)" drums  become simply 200 litre drums, so there is only one conversion needed when you are selling  to the USA. (&, obviously none for European & other Metric countries)

Metric to USA conversion tables, calculator functions, & phone "apps" are a lot more common than Imp/USA
ones.

That said, I remember seeing both US & Imp capacity painted on drums when I was a kid----probably as a result of WW2, where interoperability between US, Australian, & British forces was vital.

CatalinaWOW:

--- Quote from: jfiresto on October 29, 2019, 09:25:32 pm ---
--- Quote from: CatalinaWOW on October 29, 2019, 08:19:23 pm ---rstofer is absolutely correct on this one.  The unit of measure on those large PET bottles is the bottle.  We don't buy x bottles to get y liters of soda.  We don't say we need y liters to fill z 0.5 liter glasses.  We buy the number of bottles that will fit the refrigerator or cabinet or budget.  When that runs out, or nearly runs out we buy more.  And I suspect that is the way people operate worldwide....

--- End quote ---

There is a fair amount of that in Germany, people buy another bottle or another box, but many also look at the specific price (euros/liter, euros/100 g, etc.). It is shown with the end price, to help compare other brands and sizes. I get annoyed when a manufacturer reduces the amount in a box or bottle. In response, I weigh each serving on an industrial balance, and proportionally reduce the serving size. Tit for tat.

--- End quote ---

Unit pricing is required many if not most places in the US.  And that also is exploited for marketing purposes.  One brand will be price per ounce, another price per gram and a third price per kg and a fourth price per pound.  The metric sizes are easy to convert but the first impression still has impact.   

bsfeechannel:

--- Quote from: rstofer on October 29, 2019, 08:53:38 pm ---Outstanding!  Yet the largest economy in the world isn't metric.  I wonder if causality applies...

--- End quote ---

The other economies are not so large because they spent all their money converting to the metric system.

Jokes aside, let's dismiss some myths.

People have to have in mind that the first country to abandon their customary units in favor of something less insane were the French themselves. Other countries thought it to be a good idea and voluntarily adhered. So, the French didn't impose their customary system over the other countries.

People who like to raise the "perils" of converting to metric often cite the Revolta do Quebra-Quilos (something like the "break-the-kilos" revolt in English) in 1872 in Brazil. First, it happened in a specific region of the country, and the reason for the revolt was that in some towns the old standards were suddenly banned and people were forced to immediately buy or rent new certified metric scales, weights and containers. This, together with other problems, sparked the revolt.

So the rage was not against the metric system, but against the way it was done.

The other myth is that the metric system is "eurocentric". Countries that have adopted the metric system outside Europe don't have that sentiment. Metric is international. You can buy something from a distant country, and if a screw breaks, you can find it locally. You don't have to import it from a distant land just because of their whimsical standard. People don't even think of France when they use the system. It is so ingrained in the everyday life that I guess that most don't have the slightest clue that the French started it two centuries ago. I hope that I don't hurt any French pride here, but the truth is that the French are irrelevant for the system now, since the whole world took it over.

In short, no one gets less American for going metric.

bsfeechannel:

--- Quote from: james_s on October 29, 2019, 09:20:38 pm ---
--- Quote from: rstofer on October 29, 2019, 08:53:38 pm ---The US will never convert and folks might as well get used to it.

--- End quote ---
I bet we will eventually, at least to a greater degree than we already have.

--- End quote ---

I raise the bet.

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